SESTEM: Supporting Equality in Science Technology and Mathematics related Choices of Careers

The low uptake of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) constitutes a research and policy concern worldwide for some time now. The SESTEM project is built on the premise that the study of the uptake of STEM studies by girls and their retention in the field can benefit from investigation into the triangulation of family-individual and school factors. Under this scope SESTEM is currently conducting four interrelated comparative studies engaging students, pupils, parents and teachers (both secondary and tertiary levels). Both qualitative (in depth interviews, conceptual mapping, tandem based dialoguing and review into existing literature) and quantitative (collection and analyses of data from across the European Union Member States using on-line survey methods, and meta-analyses of existing statistical data) methods are applied.